Reasons for non-medical use of prescription opioids among young adults: Role of educational status

Abstract

Non-medical use of prescription opioids (NMUPO) and related overdoses are disproportionately elevated among young adults. Efforts to understand the underlying reasons for NMUPO are critical for developing more effective prevention and intervention strategies for this group. Given the robust literature on the association between educational status and substance abuse risk, we examined the reasons for NMUPO through the lens of educational attainment among young adults. Data from the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health came from an unweighted sample of 941 young adults aged 18–25 years who reported past-year NMUPO. Self-reported reasons for most recent NMUPO were compared by educational status. The most commonly-endorsed reasons for past-year NMUPO was physical pain relief (47.6%), followed by feel good/get high (19.8%), relax/relieve tension (13.2%) and experiment/see what it feels like (6.8%). Reasons for NMUPO did not differ as a function educational status (p = 0.17). These findings suggest that efforts to prevent and address opioid misuse among young adults should focus on understanding and improving pain management in this vulnerable population.